Chapter 5: The Giveaway
1438 Words
Within that thick, viscous liquid was the soap Li Zhi sought. However, it was still mixed with other substances and dissolved in water. It needed to be separated using a salt-out method.
Li Zhi slowly stirred pure soda ash powder into the viscous mixture while continuing to heat and stir. The sodium ions from the soda ash forced the soap to separate from the water. After heating and stirring for another quarter of an hour, he let the mixture sit. Soon, the soap he wanted had aggregated into a layer floating on top of the solution.
But this product wasn't pure enough yet; it still contained impurities. Thinking it over, Li Zhi performed a heated alkali wash treatment. This finally yielded soap of relatively high purity. After the alkali wash, a thick layer of yellowish, semi-translucent solid coated the top of the solution. This was it—the high-purity soap Li Zhi had aimed for.
Successfully obtaining his soap put Li Zhi in excellent spirits. The soap was still warm and in a semi-solid state. Using a spatula, he scooped out this layer, pressed it into a square within a wooden box, then turned it out onto the kitchen floor to cure in the shade.
Two hours later, the soap had completely dried, taking on a dull yellow hue. Li Zhi took a piece, rubbed it in water, and as expected, it produced a rich lather. He then deliberately soiled a rag by dragging it across the floor, stepped on it, and washed it with the soap. Sure enough, the grime on the rag was completely removed.
Li Zhi's soap was a success. He had brought something that didn't exist in the late Ming into this world. This soap was the tool upon which he would rely to change the Li family's destiny. Looking at his product, a surge of pride and ambition washed over him—even the thought of using technology to change this world.
Emboldened by his first success, Li Zhi pressed on and made a second batch. He then cut the pressed soap with a knife into small bars. By the time the sun dipped westward and cooking smoke curled from household chimneys, Li Zhi had produced 500 small bars of soap. Having worked all afternoon, he was tired and sat down on the floor, leaning against the stove to rest.
While he was resting, his younger brother Li Xing walked in. As it was getting late, Li Xing assumed no more customers would come. After closing the shop, he headed to the kitchen to cook dinner. The moment he entered, he saw pots, bowls, and utensils scattered about, and 500 small soap bars on the floor. His eyes wide, he looked at Li Zhi sitting by the stove and asked, "What have you been doing?"
Li Zhi looked at Li Xing and said slowly, "You know what soapberries are, right?"
Li Xing nodded. "Yes, rich folks use them for washing. What about it?"
"Knowing about soapberries makes it easier to explain." Li Zhi smiled and pointed at the small soap bars on the floor. "These can wash clothes and the body too. They work even better than soapberries."
Li Xing didn't believe him. Not understanding what Li Zhi meant, he stood hesitantly in the kitchen doorway, watching his brother.
Li Zhi got up from the floor. He took the rag, deliberately soiled it again by dragging and stepping on it, then, right in front of Li Xing, washed it with the soap and water. After a short while, when Li Zhi wrung out the washed rag, the stains on it were completely gone.
Watching this demonstration, Li Xing was astonished. He hadn't expected the soap's cleaning power to be so strong. Skeptical, he took the rag from his brother's hand, stepped on it to dirty it again, and tried washing it in water alone. After scrubbing for a bit, the stains remained dark and stubborn—plain water clearly couldn't clean this grime.
Then Li Xing rubbed the soap on the stains and scrubbed again. With the soap, he easily removed all the stains this time. His mouth fell open in shock. He never imagined there could be such a miraculous thing in the world that could clean dirt so simply.
It was important to know that in the Great Ming, washing dirty clothes was one of the most labor-intensive chores. To get clothes clean, women had to go to the riverbank and beat the garments repeatedly with wooden clubs. This pounding was not only exhausting but also quickly wore out and damaged new clothes.
But with this soap, it was completely different. Now, one only needed to apply a little soap, and the dirt came off easily—saving effort and being economical. It was absolutely a revolutionary invention.
Even with the evidence right before his eyes, Li Xing was still having trouble believing it. He stared blankly at Li Zhi. "How do you know how to make this stuff?"
"An old Daoist priest taught me."
"Why would an old Daoist priest teach you?"
Li Zhi smiled faintly. "That's a secret."
The Li family was in business, and Li Xing had a good commercial mind. After trying it himself, he immediately recognized the huge business opportunity in this soap. Looking at the small bars on the floor, he murmured, "You made these to sell?"
Li Zhi smiled wider. "No. These are giveaways. Free samples. Yes, they're gifts for housewives. Only after they know how good the soap is will they come to our shop to buy more."
"So you made them this small because we're giving them away first, and business will boom afterwards?" Li Xing asked, catching on.
Li Zhi stood up, praising his brother. "My little brother is truly clever."
Li Xing stared at Li Zhi, bewildered, unable to understand how his once simple-minded older brother had become so shrewd. Seeing Li Zhi create such an amazing product, Li Xing's attitude towards him changed drastically. He began to listen to Li Zhi's instructions with a new, albeit hesitant, respect.
At first light the next day, Li Xing followed Li Zhi as they began giving away small soap samples in front of their shop. Li Zhi targeted well-dressed women. If they gave the soap to men, the men might not see the use and throw it away. If given to wealthy ladies, they had servants to do the washing and might likewise discard it. Women from destitute families, even if they needed soap, couldn't afford to buy it. Only women from respectable middle-class families, who needed to wash clothes themselves and could afford to buy soap, would let Li Zhi's real product deliver its maximum value.
The Li family compound was adjacent to Hengda Street in the eastern city, and the foot traffic in front of their shop was considerable, allowing Li Zhi to carefully select his potential customers.
They had just opened the shop when Li Zhi spotted two respectably dressed women walking by together. He stepped forward to offer his soap.
"Sisters, a moment of your time! Your pleated skirts are lovely, but it would be a shame if they got dirty. Listen, our shop has just received a new batch of premium soap, specially for washing clothes and bathing. It's very affordable, and it works far better than soapberries. Just wet it, rub a little on, scrub, and the dirt on your clothes vanishes. It's also much more effective for bathing than soapberries. Would you like to see?"
"Something like that exists? I've never heard of this 'soap' thing."
"It's a new product our shop just acquired. The first of its kind in all of Tianjin Wei! Of course you haven't heard of it. It's no trouble. I'm not asking for money—here's a free sample for you to try. Take it home, test it, and see the effect for yourself."
"Well, that's nice! Give us one then."
Li Zhi handed the soap to the two women, smiling. "Here you are, one for each sister. This is the sample. The regular product is 25 times larger and costs only 20 wen—absolutely fair. If you find it good after trying it, you must come to our little shop to buy the real product."
In the Ming Dynasty, promoting products by giving away free samples was extremely rare. These two women were also getting a free commodity for the first time, finding it quite novel and delightful. They said happily, "If it works well, we'll come buy some."
Li Zhi replied cheerfully, "I'll be waiting for you!"
- Writer
